UK Patent GB 2,275,880 describes a door vice for clamping a door such as to support the door in an otherwise freestanding, upright position. Once held in this position, various operations can then be carried out with greater ease, for example planing an edge of the door, or fitting hinges thereto, etc. The door vice of GB 2,275,880 comprises a cradle having a housing in which a wedge may be seated. During use the edge of a door is seated within the housing beside the wedge, the thick end of the wedge then being driven inwardly of the housing such as to clamp the door between the cradle and the wedge. The side wall of the housing with which the wedge is in contact is obliquely disposed to the transverse axis of the cradle so that the face of the wedge which contacts the door is disposed substantially parallel to the door, thereby achieving the maximum contact therewith.
The door vice of GB 2,275,880 would generally be used by tradesmen and would normally form part of a large selection of tools which are transported from site to site. As a result, the cradle and/or the wedge would often become misplaced, thereby rendering the door vice inoperable.